Miami Dog Bootcamp: Our Day Training/Boarding program for Dogs and Puppies

Many of you have seen on our facebook page the dogs that are currently enrolled in our day-training and overnight board and train program. We often refer to these programs as “doggie boot camp.” What is a boot camp anyway? Technically a boot camp is:

boot camp

n.

1. A training camp for military recruits.

2. A correctional facility that uses the training techniques applied to military recruits to teach usually youthful offenders socially acceptable patterns of behavior.

Obviously, we train dogs. You won’t find any military recruits at our canine training center, but you will find well trained dogs. Here’s our revised definition:

Dog boot camp

n.

1. A daily training camp for dogs in need of obedience and manners, and owners who are in need of fast results

There’s a few reasons why people choose our day-training and board and train “bootcamp” programs over our Miami group classes or private in-home lessons.

“I don’t have the time required to train my dog.”

Dog training takes a serious amount of daily practice, dedication, and repetition in order to achieve the results you desire with your dog. To accomplish obedience foundations (sit, down, stay, come, heel, leave it, go to place, no jump)

“I don’t feel comfortable with my own skill level to train my dog”

Even though our private lesson and group class instructors are excellent, sometimes we find people who honestly just can’t train their own dog to the degree they desire. This is not something you should feel bad about. It’s like any other sport, skill or talent. Some people are naturally good at activities that require a lot of eye hand coordination, and others simply are not.

“I need/want faster results.”

For whatever reason, you need your dog to have better manners YESTERDAY. Because we train dogs everyday, all day, all the time, we are very, very good at it. If you trained dogs as much as we did you would be good at it too! The reality is that when we have to teach you AND your dog simultaneously, we have to go slower to make sure both species learn. Yet, in our day-training and board and train programs, we can focus on just your dog! This means we get a lot accomplished a lot quicker. Yet, when bootcamp is over we still do have to teach you, too. The good news is, that teaching you takes less time than is required to train your dog. People choose our day-train and board and program programs because our dog trainign team can get all the hard work done for you, and then basically teach you how to “drive.”

So what can you expect from our day-train or board and train programs?

Realistic Expectations:

It’s also important that we point out the things that are NOT realistic expectations. There is no magic dog training dust. If there was, we’d just sell it you. In dog training we are working with living, breathing, emotional, intelligent, thinking, sentient beings who always do, and DESERVE, to have a choice. The goal of a dog training program is to teach dogs alternate behaviors that are desirable so they choose to do the things we like, instead of continuing to choose doing the “naughty” things we don’t like. To a degree, the “control” that is had over a dog IS handler dependent. Which is why it is so, so critical that we work with you for a few sessions after the conclusion of your dog’s bootcamp. At the end of your dog’s stay we will prove that he can work for us, but ultimately we need him to WANT to work for you. It is unrealistic to think your dog will be “completely trained” after leaving a boot camp program. Training is a lifestyle that we will teach you. Training is for the life of your dog.

Unrealistic expectations:

It is unrealistic to think that after only two weeks of training, or even a month of training, that you will have a dog who listens 100% of the time in every scenario imaginable. Training the actual mechanics of sit, down, stay, come & heel might only take a few days, but it’s what we call “proofing” that takes much, much longer. Proofing is what happens when you practice skills a dog already knows under distractions to the point that those behaviors will hold up even despite distractions, temptations,and other things that may happen in your dog’s environment. Proofing is the longest stage of training because there is an infinite number of “scenarios” that must be rehearsed in order for your dog to become fluent in his behaviors. Always remember, your dog is a live animal with a very intelligent brain capable of making high level choices. Only through repetition and rehearsal of good behavior can we have a dog that chooses to “obey.” We are committed to training positively (no metal collars, no shock collars), which means that training your dog takes as long as it takes — and that is non negotiable for us. Other companies very well may guarantee they can train a “proofed” dog in two weeks, but we would caution that anyone who claims this is likely using punitive methods to train. A dog who is scared to misbehave is not our idea of what dog training should be like.

What we can guarantee:

That your dog will learn.

That your dog will show improvement after completing one of our programs

That your dog will be happy to make better choices regarding his behavior

That your dog will enjoy his bootcamp experience because we teach dogs to LOVE their work

That your dog will have a clear understanding of what is expected in terms of his behavior

What we can’t guarantee:

That you will follow our advice once your dog is back home with you! It’s up to YOU to take our advice about how you should move forward with your dogs “everyday training” once we have trained him for you. We could do a fantastic job of training your dog, but if you do not take our advice and go straight back to your “normal” routine your dog will certainly slip back into his old ways. Again, training is a lifestyle. Once your dog is trained you have to be trained, too! Our promise to you is that we will equip you with the knowledge you need in order to effectively communicate with the dog that we have trained for you. We are committed to helping you learn how to provide what your dog needs in order for him to continue his good behavior once he gets back home.

Here’s a quick list of the most common behaviors we teach in our bootcamp:

So, lastly, in answer to the question: how long does should my dog stay at your facility? Is day-train the bed option or should I leave my dog with you for a week? Two weeks? One month? Longer? The answer is: It depends on your training goals. Every program we design is customized for that particular dog and owner — for YOU.

Need help with your dog or puppy in South Florida? Our facility is located at 4423 SW 74th Avenue, Miami FL 33155 just off Bird Road and the Palmetto (826) expressway in the Bird Road Art District (BRAD). In addition to our bootcamp we offer puppy training classes, group classes of obedience, competition, agility, frisbee, rally, rally free, tricks, nose work, reactive dog class and much more! We are open 7 days a week so we encourage you to stop on in and meet us. If you want to see our bootcamp in action feel free to pass by Monday-Friday from 9-5PM, which is when we’re working (training!) camp dogs. We teach affordale group classes in the evenings with qualified, certified dog training instructors. For more information you can reach us at 786-529-7833 or emails training@applauseyourpaws.com. We train positively and believe that you don’t have to be RUFF to teach your dog stuff. We are Miami’s expert dog trainers. We get results!